Metal Gear Survive Has Player Drop from MGS 5

By Olivia Falk 22 December 2018

Metal Gear Survive – Konami’s first attempt at tackling the Metal Gear franchise without the oversight of its esteemed creator Hideo Kojima – is already showing signs of weakness compared to its predecessors. Specifically, according to statistics collected by GitHyp, Metal Gear Survive

’s player count on Steam post-launch peaked at a mere 92% of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain’s numbers.

Prior to launch, Metal Gear Survive seemed to have a lot running against it. Fans of the Metal Gear franchise lamented the departure of series creator Hideo Kojima, and the new game’s focus on the saturated “zombie survival” genre instead of traditional stealth-action left many wanting. Even after launching with a discounted $40 price tag, Survive only saw middling sales.

Those sales seem to have translated into equally lackluster statistics, as Metal Gear Survive reportedly hit a peak concurrent player count of a mere 7,713 players this past weekend. In contrast, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain’s count peaked at 90,952, and even the 2014 spin-off title Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance managed to hit 11,964 concurrent players.

Despite boasting a 70% (Mostly Positive) user score on Steam at the time of writing, a lack of players – particularly in light of Konami’s efforts to support the game with new co-op challenges – doesn’t bode well for the future of Metal Gear Survive. Our review of the game was less-than-complimentary, stating “the first five hours or so are an absolute nightmare” and concluding that “we can’t recommend Metal Gear Survive to anyone.”

Of course, it’s open for debate as to what exactly is driving players away from the title. It could be that Survive is attempting to enter into a market already populated by such household names as Dead Rising. The recent announcement of extra save slots costing $10 also may have played a part in discouraging fans regarding Konami’s commitment to the franchise.

It’s also possible that fans simply aren’t interested in a Metal Gear game without its iconic creator at the helm. Considering the drastic player count drop-off from Metal Gear Solid 5 – a game which arguably made the franchise more widely known thanks to its multiplatform release – this certainly seems to be the most likely factor.

Whatever the case, it’s clear that Konami has its work cut out for it if Metal Gear Survive – and the Metal Gear franchise as a whole – has any hope of surviving.